Identity Theft is a crime in which someone accesses information to commit fraud, by getting false credentials, opening new accounts in someone else's name or using someone else's existing accounts, to apply for credit, file taxes, or get medical services, a thief might even give your name to the police during an arrest.
How identity theft happens ?
Even when you’re a victim, you may never know how it happened. Where was the weak link that allowed your personal information to fall into the hands of an identity thief? Was it your fault? Or that of a business that you entrusted with your information? And was it stolen last month—or 10 years ago?
There are any number of ways, from sophisticated technological attacks to simply being at the right place at the right time. Here are seven ways your PII can land in the wrong hands, possibly leading to identity theft:
Data breaches often make headlines, so this is one method you’ve likely heard about before. Accidental or intentional, they can cause problems—for the organizations that suffer them and the individuals whose information is exposed. An accidental data breach might occur when an organization’s employee leaves a work computer—containing PII or a way to access it—in a vulnerable place, allowing someone to steal it. An intentional breach usually involves criminals finding a way to access an organization’s computer network so that they can steal PII. The criminals might deploy a sophisticated technical attack or simply trick an employee into clicking on a link that creates an attack opening to be exploited. Regardless of how it happens, a data breach can, in one fell swoop, expose the PII of millions of unwitting victims.
Phishing We mentioned above the act of tricking someone within an organization into clicking on a link. This is often the basis of a phishing attack. Criminals will send emails to folks inside the entity they want to attack. They want a recipient to click on a link or open an attachment that could give the criminals access to the organization’s network, providing access to PII. Why target employees? One industry official says criminals consider employees the low-hanging fruit that attackers can try to manipulate to get into the system. But be aware that phishing attacks can also target individuals outside a business or government agency.
Unsafe Internet connections Here’s one means of identity theft you may not think about. If you’re in an airport, coffee shop or other location that offers free public Wi-Fi, a criminal might be on that same network, watching what you’re doing online. And don’t think that a password-protected Wi-Fi network is much safer. The criminal could easily have that same coffee-shop password, as well.
Mail theft Even in this digital era, identity thieves stick with what works. And grabbing mail from an unsecured mailbox is a tried-and-true method to steal someone’s PII. It’s one thing if they’re grabbing only junk mail, but they could also grab bank or credit card statements or, worse yet, tax forms that include your Social Security number.
Dumpster diving Like mail theft, dumpster diving is a time-tested way criminals can put their hands on PII. Identity thieves are not above digging through your trash to find financial statements, tax documents or other information that might help them steal your identity.
Lost Social Security card Imagine losing your wallet with your Social Security card and driver’s license. An identity thief who found it would have your full name, address, birthdate and, of course, Social Security number. You might as well have tied a ribbon around it with a card that said, “Please steal my identity!”
Weak data protection Data protection may sound like a strictly digital term, but it has an analog counterpart. If you invite strangers—or near-strangers—into your home, you should keep this in mind. Could an appliance repair person, housecleaner or dog walker come across information that you prefer to keep secret?
Warning Signs of ID Theft
You may not know that you’re the victim of ID theft immediately. You could be a victim if you receive:
- Bills for items you didn't buy
- Debt collection calls for accounts you didn't open
- Denials for loan applications
Types of ID Theft
There are several common types of identity theft that can affect you:
- Tax ID theft - Someone uses your Social Security number to falsely file tax returns with the IRS or your state
- Medical ID theft - Someone steals your Medicare ID or health insurance member number. Thieves use this information to get medical services or send fake bills to your health insurer.
- Social ID theft - Someone uses your name and photos to create a fake account on social media
How to help protect yourself from Identity Theft online ?
- Your online behaviors may have an impact on your risk of identity theft. Here are some great ips to keep in mind:
- Be careful with both how and where you share your personal information when you’re on the Internet — whether you’re using a computer or a mobile device.
- Give your home Wi-Fi network a name that isn’t tied to your home. For instance, if your street address is 1111 St., don’t name your Wi-Fi network, “1111 St.” You don’t want to make yourself an obvious target.
- Make sure you give your Wi-Fi network a strong and unique password so those would-be intruders can’t easily access your network and, perhaps, the devices connected to it.
- Make sure the passwords you’re using for online accounts are strong and unique. Using the same password on multiple accounts certainly makes it easier for you to remember, but when sophisticated hackers score a breach using one of your passwords, they may test your stolen login credentials on other accounts — the one for your bank, perhaps. If your credentials are the same for both, imagine the consequences.
- Be wary of logging into accounts or transacting when on a public Wi-Fi network, even if that network is password protected. Coffee-shop Wi-Fi passwords are easy to come by. With the right tools, a cyber thief on the same network could follow your online moves and capture everything from your login credentials to the credit card information you type in while shopping.
- If you have to do business on a public Wi-Fi network, consider using a Secure VPN, or virtual private network. A Secure VPN creates a kind of tunnel to encrypt your data, making it useless to would-be snoops. And remember, no one can prevent identity theft